The first time I visited an outdoor mall was when I was in Florida.
I didn’t realize that it was the norm there.
You walk around and just pop into any store you want. Up north you are in a giant facility and completely covered. It is necessary for the wahter. I remember hating going to the mall. You would need to wear thick coats, boots, hats, and gloves to walk from the parking lot to the mall. Then you would walk around the mall in snowboats and have to carry all your gear. It was heavy, bulky, and hot if you choose to wear it. When I moved to Florida the concept of an outdoor mall was so foreign to me. So I get to walk around and see the shop fronts. I get to be in the sunshine and feel the breeze. The weather is always super nice in Florida too. I love that I can wear a hat and sunscreen in the summer. During the winter it is a very lightweight coat and pants. I never need to carry anything other than maybe an umbrella. The stores in the mall are really great about temperature control. In the summer it is nice ducking into a place to get a crisp blast of cold AC. In the winter they make sure to have a good heating system running to keep us warm. I love this method of HVAC. The outdoor mall is unique to the southern states. My area of St. Petersburg has a really great outdoor mall that I frequent all the time.